TENNIS: Rybakina hits out at line‑calling system after Madrid row

Elena Rybakina said she has lost confidence in the electronic line-calling system after a controversial decision during her three-set win over Zheng Qinwen at the Madrid Open on Sunday.

The incident occurred in the second set when Zheng was awarded an ace at 40-0 while serving at 4-3, despite replays and visible markings suggesting the ball had gone long. The disputed call left Rybakina visibly frustrated as the momentum briefly shifted in the match.

Following her 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to advance to the round of 16, the Australian Open champion expressed strong doubts about the reliability of the system.

“With this thing, I won’t trust it at all,” Rybakina told reporters. “There was no mark even close to what the TV showed.”

The two-time Grand Slam champion also compared the situation to a similar controversy involving Alexander Zverev at last year’s Madrid tournament, when the German player protested a disputed call and later received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after photographing a mark.

“It was, I think, similar to what Zverev had last year because it was in front of her nose. You can’t not see it. It was pretty frustrating,” Rybakina said. “It’s kind of a stolen point. I understand it was her serve and she was serving really well, but it’s really frustrating.”

Despite the tension, Rybakina managed to recover and close out the match in three sets, securing her place in the last 16. She will next face Anastasia Potapova in the quarterfinals. -Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters